The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantrydivision of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as the Highland Division and later 51st (Highland) Division from 1915. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after the name of its commander, Major-GeneralGeorge Harper. The division was renamed the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and fought during the Second World War as part of the Territorial Army after the Territorial Force was disbanded in 1920. The division was nicknamed the "Highway Decorators" in reference to the 'HD' insignia that adorned road signs along their axis of advance.

A related formation, the 51st (Scottish) Division, was reformed in the Territorial Army after the Second World War. Beckett 2008 says that Territorial Army units that were in suspended animation were formally reactivated on 1 January 1947, though no personnel were assigned until commanding officers and permanent staff had been appointed in March and April 1947.[1] By December 1947, the formation amalgamated with 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division had become 51st/52nd Scottish Division,[2] but, by March 1950, 52nd Division had been recreated as an independent formation.[3] From December 1955, the division was placed on a lower establishment, for home defence purposes only.[4] On 1 May 1961, the division was merged with Highland District to become 51st Highland Division/District.[5]

By early 1915, the Highland Division had lost six of its 12 pre-war Highland infantry battalions to Regular divisions. When TF divisions were finally ordered overseas as complete formations in their own right in early 1915, the Highland Division was only at half-strength and in no shape to be sent abroad at that time. Only by the last-minute addition of two Lowland battalions and the North Lancashire Brigade from the West Lancashire Division was the division, now numbered as the 51st (Highland) Division, considered numerically complete and was rushed to the Western Front in May 1915 to help stem the latest German onslaught during the Second Battle of Ypres. Obviously, the lack of familiarity amongst these newly introduced disparate units hampered division efficiency and the division could only fare moderately in the further actions at Festubert and Givenchy. Lieutenant GeneralSir Douglas Haig, then commanding the British First Army, and later to command the entire BEF, commented that the 51st was, at the time of Festubert, "practically untrained and very green in all field duties". Moved to the quiet Somme front in the late summer of 1915, the division, now under the command of Major GeneralGeorge Harper, had yet to satisfy the expectations of those expecting the familiar Highland flair– this was the period of Harper's Duds.

Prisoners taken in Beaumont Hamel, France, during the Battle of the Ancre, by the 51st (Highland) Division, 13 November 1916.

The situation was only resolved when, in January 1916, the Lancashire Brigade (by then renumbered the 154th (3rd Highland) Brigade and later became the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade) left the division and their place was filled by original Highland battalions released by the regular divisions and by battalions of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) not originally in the division. Given the chance to show their mettle in July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, they assaulted High Wood, which they attacked forcefully in the midst of a murderous field of fire without shelter. Though they failed to take the position, they had shown the fighting spirit expected of Highlanders. The division's reputation grew and they were chosen to capture the notorious fortress village of Beaumont-Hamel in November 1916, towards the end of the Somme offensive. The 51st were "Harper's Duds" no longer, now they were, according to the German nickname, "The Ladies From Hell".

Men of the 1/4th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders crossing a trench, Ribecourt, France, 20 November 1917.

By 1917, the 51st was considered a leading assault division and was handed more and more difficult tasks, throughout the year, from Arras in April/May to the combined tank-infantry assault at Cambrai in November.

By early 1918, the division, as with numerous others in the BEF at the time, was below-strength due to losses in 1917 and the tired survivors were given a quiet part of the front line to hold. Unfortunately, the Germans had by chance chosen that location as one of the focal points for their Kaiserschlacht, the last great German assault on the West in March 1918, intended to win the war before the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) could arrive in great numbers. The neighbouring Portuguese troops bore the brunt of the initial German assault and when they started to retire from their positions and ran across the 51st's positions, they were mistaken for Germans in the poor visual conditions and the 51st opened fire on them, causing casualties. The under-strength 51st was also pushed back, but eventually held as the German offensive ebbed and flowed. The remains of the division survived the Spring battles and received replacements in time for Haig's Allied offensives of August 1918 onward, which saw the war coming to an end on 11 November 1918.

Battle of the Scarpe. Capture of the Greenland Hill by the 51st Division. Daylight patrol of the 1/6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders working forward towards Hausa and Delbar Woods. North-east of Roeux, 29 August 1918. Troops firing into a dug-out in a deserted German trench to dislodge any remaining Germans.

Major-General Fortune took command of the division in 1937. In common with the rest of the British Army at the time, training and equipment had been insufficient in the years after World War 1. In 1938, after Chamberlain's visit to Munich, the decision had been taken to double the size of the Territorial Army, and the Highland Division had made good progress with this recruitment by the spring of 1939. The issue of equipment and the associated training remained a problem. For example: 2 years of regular army infantry training was compressed into 3 months; some mortar units had no experience with live ammunition until they got to the firing ranges in France; Bren gun carrier crews only received their equipment in the summer of 1939, leaving little time for training in operating and tactics.[11]

With the situation regarding Nazi Germany deteriorating and the threat of war on the rise, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was mobilised on 24 August 1939. In preparation for joining the BEF in France, the division traveled from Scotland to Aldershot, where it received final equipping and training. All units had arrived at Aldershot by 16 September 1939. The men were required to wear the standard British Army battledress of the day. The War Office had decided that kilts were not suited to modern mechanised warfare and did not provide protection in the event of a gas attack. Thus, the men were required to hand in their kilts before embarking for France.[11]

In February and March the 51st Division underwent a major reorganisation as per policies of the BEF. Some of the division's units were replaced by Regular Army formations. This was done with the intention of strengthening inexperienced Territorial divisions. The 23rd Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery, a Regular Army unit, replaced by the 76th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery is one example of the changes made. The 76th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Division.[13] On 22 April 1940 the 51st Division was detached from the rest of the BEF to come under command of the French Third Army. The division was stationed in front of the Ouvrage Hackenberg fortress of the Maginot Line.

With the German invasion of France and the low countries on 10 May 1940 the BEF advanced into Belgium to meet the advancing German forces. Stationed to the south in front of the Maginot Line, the 51st Division was not a part of the force involved in Belgium, and was thus not involved in the Dunkirk evacuation. In response to the German advance it was pulled back to form a defensive line along the Somme, where it was attached to the French Tenth Army. With the withdrawal of Allied forces at Dunkirk, the Germans turned their attention to the south. On 5 June they began their second offensive. The 51st was tasked with holding a line four times longer than that which would normally be expected of a division. Sustained attacks over 5–6 June caused heavy losses, particularly among the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, where the main weight of the German attack fell. The Argylls' losses were the worst they had suffered in their history. The other battalions of the 154th Brigade were enveloped. The remnant of the 154th Brigade was forced to retire to the west. Meanwhile, the 152nd and 153rd Brigades, along with the French 9th Corps, under Lieutenant General Marcel Ihler, were cut off from the main Allied forces, and had to withdraw toward Le Havre for a possible evacuation by sea. The 154th Brigade was detached to form "Arkforce" and tasked with maintaining an open line of communication with Le Havre. As the force moved back toward the coast German forces reached the coast area near Saint-Valery-en-Caux first, cutting off the line of retreat to Le Havre. The French and British force pulled back into Saint Valery-en-Caux. With steep cliffs over looking the small harbor, the Germans had a ready line of fire to use against any attempts to withdraw. General Fortune could not hold out much longer, and realized their last chance was to be pulled off in the dark on the night of 11/12 June, but no ships came. On the morning of 12 June the French forces surrendered, followed 30 minutes later by the British. Major-General Fortune was one of the most senior British officers to be taken prisoner in the war.[14] After the war was over, he was knighted by King George VI.[15] From the British point of view, the defeat of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was the end of the Allied resistance during the battle of France.[15]

More than 10,000 members of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division were taken prisoner at St Valery.[11] They were marched to Germany, via Belgium, following the route over which the Germans had advanced against them. Their destination was Stalag XX-A at Toruń, about 120 miles (190 km) north-west of Warsaw. Some were loaded into canal barges for part of their journey, but all eventually travelled by train in cattle wagons. There were some notable escapes, mostly in the early stages of the march. Of the 290 British Army POW escapers who had returned to Britain by the end of June 1941, 134 were members of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division.[11]

As other camps were brought into operation, a large proportion of the POWs were transferred – most to Stalag XX-B at Malbork and Stalag 344 at Lambinowice, but with small numbers in many other camps.[a][16] Early in 1945, the Russian Army had advanced close to these camps, so the POWs were involved in the Long March. Some groups from Stalag XX-A marched around 450 miles (720 km) in the depths of winter to Stalag XIB/357 at Bad Fallingbostel on the Lüneburg Heath, north of Hanover. Others had similar journeys in severe winter conditions, affected by shortages of food and shelter, with many suffering from dysentery and frostbite.[17]

In 1942 French General Charles de Gaulle, in a speech, claimed "I can tell you that the comradeship in arms experienced on the battlefield of Abbeville in May and June 1940 between the French armoured division which I had the honour to command and the valiant 51st Highland Division under General Fortune played its part in the decision which I took to continue fighting on the side of the Allies unto the end, no matter what the course of events."[18]

On 12 June 2010, veterans of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division attended a commemorative ceremony for the 70th Anniversary of the battle at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux.[19]

The first general officer commanding (GOC) of the new incarnation of the division was Major-General Alan Cunningham, who, in October 1940, was sent to the Middle East. He was replaced by Major-General Neil Ritchie. Almost two years of home defence and training duties followed on the south coast of England and north-east coast of Scotland against a potential German invasion, which never arrived.[21][22] In June 1941, Major-General Ritchie was sent to the Middle East and Major-General Douglas Wimberley, who had served with the original 51st (Highland) Division during the First World War and more recently commanded the 152nd Brigade, assumed command.[23] With the arrival of Wimberley as GOC, strenuous training for future operations overseas began. By June 1942, the division was ordered to prepare for service overseas.

Later the 51st Division had a rest to absorb replacements for the heavy losses, in both manpower and materiel, suffered in North Africa and began training in amphibious warfare. In July, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, suffering comparatively light casualties in the short campaign, which lasted for 38 days. Towards the end of the campaign in early August, the division was withdrawn from combat and held in reserve for the Allied invasion of Italy. Although the 51st Division as a whole did not take part in the invasion, some of the division's artillery helped support Operation Baytown, the Eighth Army's crossing of the Strait of Messina in Sicily to the Italian "toe" at Reggio Calabria.

The division was then recalled from the Eighth Army and returned to the United Kingdom, on the wishes of the Army's old commander, General Montgomery, together with the veteran 7th Armoured and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Divisions, to prepare for the opening of the Second Front in June 1944. Montgomery later commented on the 51st "Of the many fine divisions that served under me in the Second World War, none were finer than the Highland Division. It was the only infantry division in the armies of the British Empire that accompanied me during the whole of the long march from Alamein to Berlin."

When a group of recuperating wounded soldiers of the 51st returned from their North African hospital to rejoin the division in Sicily, they were instead split up and ordered to various units and formations, mainly the British 46th Infantry Division which had suffered heavy casualties during the Salerno landings, totally unrelated to the 51st Division or its component regiments. Some soldiers of the division regarded this as administrative high-handedness and refused to follow these orders, and the result was the Salerno Mutiny. The mutineers were distributed to various units regardless, while ringleaders were sentenced to death (the sentences were later commuted and finally quashed).

On 1 August 1944 the division, along with the rest of British I Corps, became part of the newly activated Canadian First Army. The division fought alongside this army in Operation Totalize, before advancing to Lisieux. It then continued east over the River Seine and headed, on General Montgomery's orders[26] for Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, the scene of the division's surrender in June 1940. The division's massed pipes and drums played in the streets of the town, and a parade included veterans of the 1940 campaign in France who were with the 51st Division in 1944. A similar event occurred at Dieppe when it was liberated by the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. Leaving Saint Valéry, the 51st Division was engaged in Operation Astonia, the battle for the French port of Le Havre, in September 1944.

A specific memorial to the division exists at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial site on the Somme, by the sculptor George Henry Paulin. A further memorial in the form of a sculpture by Alan Herroit was unveiled in May 1995 on the North Inch in Perth, Scotland. As well as commemorating 50 years of peace in Europe, the sculpture depicts a Highlander being greeted by a young Dutch girl during the liberation of the Netherlands by the 51st. A twin casting was unveiled in The Netherlands in 1994.

"The 51st (Highland) Division's Farewell to Sicily", a folk song written by Hamish Henderson, a former officer who served in the 51st Division during the Sicilian campaign. It has been recorded by a number of folk singers, including Dick Gaughan.

"The Beaches of St. Valery", performed by the Battlefield Band. Written by Davy Steele, it tells the story of the 51st Division's struggle to reach Saint-Valéry-en-Caux in 1940 only to find that no ships had been sent to evacuate them.

"The Old Boys", performed by the Scottish group Runrig, who sing in both English and Gaelic. The song which first appeared on the album Recovery (1981) and was reprised on Protera (2003) speaks of the declining numbers of Gaelic speaking members of the 51st who fought at St Valery.

"Farewell, 51st, farewell!", a folk song written by Andy Stewart, about scrapping of the 51st Division, but indicates that they will never be forgotten, as the lyrics say "On the glory road of fame, there is honour tae your name. Farewell 51st, Farewell."

"The 51st Highland Division", a 4/4 march composed by Pipe Major Donald Mac leod.[38]

"The 51st Highland Division Farewell", a 2/4 march composed by Dr. Charles Bannatyne.[39]

"The 51st Highland Division at Wadi Akarit", a 2/4 march composed by W. Mac Donald.[40]

"The Reel of the 51st Division" was written in the Laufen PoW camp by soldiers captured at St Valery. It was the very first modern Scottish Country Dance published by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. The original tune written in Laufen has been superseded by the traditional reel "The Drunken Piper" and the dance was re-cast from its original form involving a longwise set of ten men to the more usual four couple set. The original ten-man version is still danced in some parts.

The dance was published in the first post-Second World War edition (Book Thirteen) of "The Scottish Country Dance Book".

On 15 July 2018, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary called 'Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes'[41] In a review, in the Telegraph, the program was given four stars out of five and called "a terrific documentary that told the sad story of the men left behind".[42]

^A search of the British Prisoners of War database for East Surrey Regiment POWs (2nd/6th attached to the 51st in the closing days of the campaign) gives 133 in Stalag 344, 98 in Stalag XX-B, 52 in Stalag VII-A, 52 in Stalag VIII-B, 50 in Stalag XX-A and smaller numbers in other camps. The same process can be carried out with the unit name of any other unit captured at St Valery with broadly similar results. The search cannot precisely identify those captured at St Valery, but is broadly indicative of the position.